WASHINGTON – The Air Line Pilots Association,
Int’l (ALPA), applauds the recent sentencing of a man convicted of interfering
with the safe operation of an aircraft by shining a green laser at an airliner
and a helicopter in flight near Sacramento International Airport in March 2009.

On Sept. 8, 2009, a federal judge in California
sentenced Balltazar Valladares of Roseville, California, to three years and one
month in federal prison upon his conviction. Valladares admitted to police that,
on the night of March 16, 2009, he had shined a laser into the night sky in the
vicinity of the Sacramento International Airport and that he directed it at an
airborne law enforcement helicopter. The police aboard the helicopter at the
time were investigating an earlier report by an airline pilot that his aircraft
had been lasered during landing at Sacramento International.

“Shining lasers at aircraft in flight is a
serious crime that jeopardizes safety and should be punished accordingly,” said
Capt. John Prater, ALPA’s president. “ALPA commends the law enforcement agencies
that helped apprehend and prosecute the individual involved in this case,
including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Air Marshal Service,
and the Office of the U.S. Attorney, as well as the judge for his strong
sentencing.”

The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Joint Terrorism Task Force,
including the Roseville Police Department, assisted with identifying the
individual responsible and conducting the prosecution. In August, ALPA’s
National Security Committee sponsored a presentation by the FBI and the FAMS on
this case. The Association has worked closely with these law enforcement
agencies, lending its support to their efforts.

“ALPA has long advocated for prosecuting to the
fullest extent of the law those individuals who jeopardize passengers, crews,
and cargo by shining lasers at aircraft,” said Capt. Robb Powers, ALPA’s
National Security Chairman. “This outcome should serve as a warning to others
who may be tempted to endanger aircraft safety with lasers that doing so comes
at a very high price.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest
pilots union, representing nearly 53,500 pilots at 36 airlines in the United
States and Canada.